12 Ways to Say I Love You
by the-wicked-zutarians
Summary: Using inspirational quotes from none other than my kitchen calendar, i have written 12 oneshots detailing Zuko and Kat's relationship start to finish. 12 scenes 12 stories 12 different kinds of love and 12 ways to say i love you. z and k, what else right?
1. Tomorrow

So I have twelve inspirational quotes (one for every month of the year) and I decided to write 12 oneshots that center around them and are completely zutara. Yay.

Quotes are from Rodney White pictures. I don't own them or avatar the last airbender.

_~Tomorrow is the future we make it through today for~_

January – Tomorrow

Zuko stumbled; the blood trailing down hand was dragging his life with it, pooling casually in the dirt and quickly freezing. Slowly but surely he worked his way across the desecrated field. He ignored the corpses whether friends or foes they were all the same now. They were merely recycled atoms, once again returning to the earth to be remade into something else. Such was life. Such was death. Soon he might join those already there, frozen forever in the blood of strangers. He, however, had one last chance. The blue figure stood hazy in the distance, the chill and fog of early winter mornings that blurred his path to her was embracing her legs like a long lost lover. She looked bad, but not nearly as near to death as Zuko was. His head gave an immense lurch sending him spiraling to the ground. His hands made contact and a cry of pain shot from his lips as his injuries took their toll. He lay there, the red he was surrounded by was slowly disappearing beneath the black seeping into his vision and making it swim until he could have sworn he saw the faces of those he had loved, his mother, his uncle… then in a flash of clarity there were blue eyes, full of tears but clear as a full moon and then only black and words, fading even as they were spoken _'Hold on Zuko, hold on for those who love you.'_

Katara had heard his pained cry and known who it was immediately. She had whipped around just in time to see his completely shattered shoulder give out, and his fall into the icy dirt. It had taken her mere moments to get over the shock of the imperturbable prince facing off with death, and then she had run, run like she never had before, and fallen by his side. She had called to her all the water she could, drawing water from the ice and even her own body, and attempted to heal him. Her tears freezing on her face added to her water, the signs of weakness adding to her strength. She worked until she could not, and then passed out on top of the dying prince, close to death herself.

Zuko opened his eyes. He saw fabric, sheets his mind slowly corrected, his sheets. He noted that he was at home, and he was warm. He wondered why he felt surprised, and then he remembered. The battle, the blood, the rebels from his own kingdom falling beneath his sword and Azula breaking out. He remembered the shot from her hand, the pain in his shoulder and he remembered the feeling of watching her die from his own fatal blow. He remembered her final laugh, blood bubbling from her mouth. Even as she chocked on that blood, she had looked at him, gave a hysterical laugh and muttered _'weak'_. Then she had died. Zuko pinched up his face at the memory, only to realize his mistake too late. Only by lying completely still had he escaped thus far and even that small movement had set off the pain. It shot through his body and once again the black crept into his sight. But he remembered. _'those who love you.' _ And he hung on.

Katara had awoken soon after being brought back and healed her minor injuries. She had been only exhausted and her body had forced her to sleep, solving the problem. She had bolted out of the room though, realizing that Zuko was not so lucky, his problem was not only exhaustion, but internal bleeding, broken bones the cold air rapidly depleting his body heat. She had found him in the royal apartments with wailing women outside, the fire nation's symbol of mourning and death inside. She had run in and found him only _nearly_ dead. Katara immediately set to work.

He had woken sporadically for the next few days. Always, it had hurt less than the time before. Now as he woke he could function fairly normally. He sat in up in bed, using his non-injured arm. He ignored the twinges from broken ribs, and the soreness of all of his muscles from multiple bruises. He glanced around and was startled by the waterbender sitting in a chair on the other side of his bed. He had not been able to turn the other way during his recovery, and thus had not noticed her before. She was asleep, curled up completely in an oversized chair, he legs tucked up beside her body, her head on her knees. She looked peaceful, if tired and worn out. He absently wondered how long she had been there.

He didn't know how long he watched her simply sitting there. Eventually though, with much longer shadows, she stirred and woke. She glanced up at him, clearly expecting to find him sleeping, but did not.

Katara did not realize how long she had been asleep. She was less than shocked to see him sitting up. He always had been more of a fighter than most realized. She beamed at him, proud to see him awake. She got up and move to the side of the bed so she could examine his injuries for other more serious problems she may have missed in her rush. She summoned water to her and began to run her hands up and down his arms and chest.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"Fine, honestly, better than I could have expected." He raised his good arm to touch her shoulder. She jerked up to meet his eyes. "Thanks, Katara." She only nodded and set back about her work.

"You're healing remarkably well." She smiled up at him. "Are you cold?" She asked, pulling the sheets up over his wounds.

"No. Not really. It is January, so what else do you expect, but a little chill." He smiled.

"How do you do it?" She queried sitting back until her shoulders met a bed post, and then leaning up against it.

"Do what?"

"I've healed more people than the biggest abacus in the world could count. I lost track in the thousands, and that was weeks before I had even healed from a major battle, where I must have healed thousands more. No one pulls through like you do; no one could have survived those injuries but you. How do you do it?"

"Well, I have something to live for." Zuko answered thinking on his feet… er off his feet…

"What would that be, oh angsty teen prince of darkness?" She teased him lightly.

"Tomorrow."

"The future then…"

"Not exactly, more tomorrow and all the tomorrows after that. I may not have some grand plan, but I have a short term one. Survive. Don't die because tomorrow is worth that fight. There was a time when tomorrow was all I had, and even then I had to fight for it. So I make it through today." Zuko met her eyes, and was amazed to find wonder there.

"That's simply beautiful." She smiled at him, and got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Zuko asked, not wanting her to leave, and not wanting the pain to return.

"Don't worry. I'll be back." She walked to the door where she paused. "I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled.

"Yes, see you tomorrow Katara." Zuko went back to sleep, knowing full well, she would return the next day.

PLZ REVIEW! feburary will be more lighthearted!!! thanks. toooodles.


	2. OW

Quotes are from Rodney White pictures. I don't own them or avatar the last airbender.

Yay. So as u might have guessed the oneshots progress literally in the months, so its like a zutara YEAR! Their relationship friendship = lovers in 12 months.

_~I gave her roses and she blamed me for the thornes~_

February - Ow

The sparring session finished and Katara rose from her final attack position. Her new opponent cowered beneath her and he sat, ready for the icicle that had been flying at his head recently to make impact. Of course it never did. Katara smile down at the quaking boy and offered him her hand.

"Don't be afraid." She asserted herself with a wave of her hand. "It's not unusual for your elders to be beaten by a waterbender in the first few minutes of a fight. Much less so if that waterbender is a master and the avatar's sifu. You're just not used to the fighting style." The young boy grinned up at her and leapt to his feet, barely using her hand.

"Thank you, Sifu. You have been a great help." He bowed and Katara was suddenly reminded of a younger Aang as he skipped off.

"Kinta!" She called after his retreating form. The young boy whirled around to face her, eyes bright as ever and eager to please. "Please tell your father that your mother is waiting very _patiently_ for your sister to show up to her lessons." It was a little known fact that the avatar could produce children of any bending style, yet the gAang had found out the hard way. Yue knows what had possessed Toph and Aang to reproduce together but in the end they did produce a beautiful set of twins. Kinta and Jinta, a fire bender and an earth bender were truly their parents' children. In every possible way.

"Ok Aunt Sugarqueen!" He giggled as Katara rolled her eyes and then he turned to go find his father, almost smacking straight into Zuko. "OH! Good morning Uncle Hotpants!" Zuko rolled his eyes and knelt down to look at the boy.

"Did you have a nice lesson with your Aunt?" He asked sincerely, winking over the boy's shoulder at Katara.

"Uhhhhh…." He looks slightly guilty. "She beat me. Badly…" He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a huge smile before side stepping Zuko and running off. Truly his father's son, Zuko thought. Katara laughed as he rose from his crouch and walked over to her.

"I remember the first time I sparred with you and lost…" He said as he came to a stop beside her.

"Me too. As I recall it was the first time we sparred…" She gave a playful brush to her shoulder as if wiping off invisible dirt (though there was plenty there to wipe off) and smirked. Zuko laughed and punched her in the arm. She grabbed his fist and twirled it around his back.

"None of that mister. It may be a month after your injuries healed, but we don't want anything to happen to you now do we?" She gave her sweetest smile to Zuko who mocked her until she pushed a little harder on his shoulder causing him to shout.

"Ow, Kat!" He glared at her daring her to push a little harder. Katara, not being one to back down from a dare, of course, obliged.

"OKAY, OKAY, OKAY!!!!" Zuko gave in "I'm sorry, I won't mock you again." She let him go, shaking his now stiff arm out.

"You better not, or I'll just whip your tushy again…" She muttered.

"Doubt that you could powederpuff…" Zuko muttered.

"WHAT WAS THAT Zuko?" Katara shouted, it wasn't very convincing though, considering she was smiling. "CAUSE IF YOU JUST SAID ANYTHING BESIDES: YOU'RE RIGHT IM A POWDERPUFF, YOU ARE DEAD MEAT!" Zuko simply laughed and Katara unable to maintain the pretense of being mad, gave in herself.

"Oh well. We'd better get out of the training rooms before the waiting soldiers have kanipshits." Katara laughed as she pulled her parka on over her skimpy training outfit. Zuko too pulled on his coat, and they headed out into the gardens. They icy gloss that covered everything made for a beautiful scene full of reflected light and rainbows playing on the surfaces. It shone like another sun was up in the cold, making a perfect union between light and dark, cold and hot.

"I love winter." Katara remarked inhaling deeply. "but I do miss the flowers. The roses especially. They always smell so beautiful." She went over to the rose bush where she ran she fingernails over the glossy coat on the leaves and branches. She could see a bud, frozen under the ice having come too early. Zuko noticed it too and leaned toward her and the bush.

"Close your eyes." He whispered and she, much to his surprise and delight complied. Zuko cupped his hands around the flower and began to heat up the bud. The plant was a specialty of the nation, called a Sun Rose, designed for specifically this purpose. All it needed was heat from a life source, like a fire bender, and the bud would blossom. Originally designed so chefs could decorate cakes for winter birthdays, it clearly had other uses too. The rose grew rapidly and blossomed into a deep burgundy flower with white flecks at the edge. Simply beautiful, Zuko thought. Katara had a good eye for buds. He plucked the stem from the bush and moved so he was in front of Katara.

"Open." He said and Katara opened her eyes looking slightly confused. She looked at Zuko and then her eyes found the rose and widened.

"OH it's sooo beautiful!" She squealed with delight and immediately plucked the flower from his fingers. She held it up to her nose and looked simply ecstatic. Zuko was immensely pleased with himself. However her finger slipped down the stem slightly and soon became impaled on a thorn.

"OW!" She shouted, dropping the bud and sucking on her wound.

"Awwww, did little Katawa get a boo-boo?" Zuko taunted whimsically. She simply pursed her lips and glared at him as he ran a finger down his cheek imitating tear drops. She then reached out grabbed that hand and flipped him to the ground where she sat on his back looking pleased.

"AHHH. What happened to me being injured??" Zuko wimpered.

"That went out the window when you decided you were well enough to antagonize me!" She smirked.

"But… But… But… you can't blame me for the thorns!" Zuko protested.

"You wanna bet?" She challenged. Then drove his arm further to the side.

"Ahhh, ok, ok, thorns my fault… better?" He smiled into the dirt.

"Much." Said Katara clearly proud. There was silence for a few minutes and neither of them moved.

"Can you um get off of me now?" Zuko asked, feeling the cramp in his muscles begin to take its toll.

"Nope." And that was the end of that conversation.

haha, once again, i would love u more than life itself if u would reviewwww, eh????

toodles


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